Human Nature: Generosity and Greed Theme Analysis

Given the extreme circumstances of life in the Annex, Anne's exploration of human nature often focuses on generosity and greed. The adults around her buckle under the pressure of confinement and find themselves struggling between being generous (a vestige of their prewar life) and being greedy (which, to be fair, is what they often have to do in order to survive). Mr. Dussel, for example, often hoards food, and Anne takes him to task for this. Can he really be blamed, though, given the circumstances? This greed is contrasted with the apparent selflessness of those who help the Franks, the van Daans, and Mr. Dussel go into hiding. The adults living in the Annex are sometimes at odds with one another regarding how much they should share with their Christian helpers. "The van Daans don't see why we should bake a spice cake for Mr. Kugler's birthday when we can't have one ourselves," Anne writes. "All very petty."

Anne's diary eventually becomes an overt dissection of human nature. Are the people around her essentially good? (Anne would like to think so.) And how does one preserve one's humanity in the face of such extraordinary circumstances? Anne's solution to this problem involves a number of things: confiding in her journal; keeping up her studies and schoolwork; unflinchingly examining her shortcomings before she goes to sleep each night; finding comfort in the beauty of nature; falling in love with Peter. Of course, the diary also ends suddenly, as the Nazi's are tipped off to the residents of the Annex and all of those residents are taken to concentration camps. As such, the Nazis serve as a constant counterpoint to Anne's thoughts about human nature, representing the depths of evil that humanity can reach.